Faces of Precarity

Abstract

This chapter argues for a perspective on the study of precarious work which draws from earlier critical labour studies and feminist analyses of the role of domestic labour in the reproduction of capitalism in order to focus on the (micro-)social foundations of the (macro-) structural changes in the collective institutions, operations and outcomes of labour markets under neoliberalism. Especially, we point to the challenges that the fading away of the standard employment contract poses to workers and their families and assess the implications for the reproduction of labour power. We argue that the rise of precarious work with highly flexible hours and reward systems shifts risks and functions that were previously organized through the employment contract (supported by the welfare state) back onto the individual and through this onto the household and the family. This shift fosters a reconfiguration of the inter-dependences between productive paid work (undertaken within the public sphere) and unpaid work (within the private household sphere) and a shift of risks from the employer to the state and further on to individuals and families. These risks require extra family resources and domestic labour which is needed to support those in precarious work. This includes the reorganization and flexibilisation of the limited resources of the household that can match the flexibilization of work in the public sphere. Precarity therefore, we argue, is not just a feature of work but an underlying aspect of everyday life in the private as well as the public sphere for those trapped in this situation.

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